Briefly

July 29, 2014

FAIRMONT - Dr. Daniel Peterson will be leaving his ophthalmology practice at the Mayo Clinic Health System-Fairmont on Sept. 27.

Dr. Roger Neist, ophthalmologist, and Dr. Robert Friese, optometrist, will continue to see patients at the clinic, and efforts are under way to recruit a new ophthalmologist, according to the clinic.

"We are definitely continuing in the eye business; we are definitely continuing in the ophthalmology business," said Bob Bartingale, administrator of the Mayo site.

The records from Peterson's patients will remain at the clinic.

Appointments can be made by calling (507) 238-4311.

Jury stuck in Ventura case

ST. PAUL (AP) - Jurors in former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura's defamation lawsuit against "American Sniper" author Chris Kyle went home for the day Monday after hours of deliberations during which they told the judge at one point they didn't think they could reach a unanimous verdict.

U.S. District Judge Richard Kyle told them to keep trying, and they continued their fifth day of discussions for roughly four more hours before breaking. Late in the afternoon, attorneys for both sides conferred privately with the judge. They would not say afterward what they discussed but said that the jury would be back at 9 a.m. today.

Deliberations began last Tuesday. Around noon Monday, they sent the judge a note saying: "We the jury have not reached a unanimous decision. ... We feel we will not come to a unanimous decision."

Judge Kyle asked the jury "to go back one more time and have some further discussions," but he told them not to lower their standards to reach a decision. He also praised them as one of the most conscientious juries he's had in 22 years on the bench but noted the case might have to be re-tried if they remain deadlocked.

"There's no reason to believe the case will be better tried," said the judge, who is not related to the author.

8,000 get erroneous notices

ST. PAUL (AP) - More than 8,000 low-income Minnesotans have received erroneous notices that their health coverage would be temporarily canceled if they don't pay up.

A July 17 notice warned MinnesotaCare subscribers that they faced a four-month coverage lockout if they failed to renew their policy through the state's new health insurance exchange by month's end. The Department of Human Services says their automated reminders drew on part of an old law that locked out subscribers whose coverage lapsed.

That penalty no longer exists, and the department announced the error on Monday.

MinnesotaCare is a state-subsidized health care plan for adults who make too much to enroll in Medicaid but can't afford insurance on their own.

The department says it is sending revised notices to the 8,765 affected subscribers.